For most of my adult life – more than 40 years – the sport of tennis has been a source of great enjoyment, satisfaction, challenge, and much more. Many of my closest and most valued friends are individuals whom I have met through tennis. Over the decades, however, I have discovered that within the sport of tennis, as in other parts of life, there are other games that are played that are not just on court. Sometimes these games are played with the highest integrity and grace.

But, more often than not, these games are played with disturbing and ingrained prejudices and exclusionary practices, particularly regarding people of color, and display a tenacious desire to maintain the status quo. The end result is that any truly meaningful movement toward opening the gates of the tennis courts – and access to the sport’s considerable physical, psychological, social and even networking benefits – to all, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, religion, income level, ability or disability, gender or sexual orientation.

One of the most prominent and yet most chimerical players of the games of tennis throughout the years has been the United States Tennis Association (USTA). The nation’s governing body of tennis, deemed so by an official act of Congress, had an earnest enough start. In late May of 1881, a circle of avid tennis enthusiasts met in New York City to discuss the standardization of tennis rules and regulations, and how best to encourage the development and growth of the sport. In the process, these individuals gave shape to what was the world’s first national governing body of tennis: the US National Lawn Tennis Association. (USNLTA). After several decades, the word “National” was dropped from the organization’s name, as was the word “Lawn” in 1975, the result of grass’ diminished status as the sports predominate surface.
When tennis was formally organized in the United States in 1881, African Americans were barred from playing in tennis tournaments and other activities run by the organization. (This held true for Chinese Americans as well.) These discrimination policies resulted in rigid racial segregation practices that remained in effect for the next 69 years. Early in 1950, the late tennis champion, Alice Marble, wrote an article in American Lawn Tennis magazine in which she addressed the subject of racial prejudice. She noted that African American, Althea Gibson, was not allowed to participate in the better-known championships . . . for no reason than bigotry. That same year – perhaps, in part, thanks to Marble – the Negro champion was admitted into the US National Championships. The long-standing color barrier had finally been broken in tennis. The rest is history. Althea Gibson went on to become one of the great tennis champions

The door was cracked open, but it still took years before another African American – Arthur Ashe – had the opportunity to participate. As we know today, Ashe accomplished many things – both on and off the court. He was the first person to win the US Open (1986) during the Open Era. From the player standpoint, attitudes were starting to change – slowly. Between Althea Gibson’s breakthrough and that of Ashe, very few minorities and no African Americans were given opportunities in the vast bureaucracy of the USTA. It was not until the 1990s, with steady pressure being applied by Ashe and others, that attitudes within the USTA would soften and become more accepting of diversity within the system.



Today’s USTA is a volunteer-based organization consisting of 17 “Sections” across the nation. Each separately managed Section represents a geographic region that may be made up of several states, a single state (as in Florida) or a part of a state (as in California, which is divided into “Northern” and “Southern” California Sections.) These Sections are further divided in “Districts” which concern themselves chiefly with the oversight and administration of tennis programming at the very local, grassroots level
Each Section, as well as USTA National, based in White Plains, NY, is guided by a volunteer Board of Directors. The National Board consists of the organizational Chairman/President; First Vice President; two Vice Presidents; a Secretary-Treasurer; 9 Directors – at – Large; the Immediate Past President and 5 Presidential Appointees. The organization is further supported by a full-time, paid staff, supervised by the Executive Director. The ED not only implements Board policies and manages day-to-day operations and activities, but also serves as liaison and coordinator with the Sections. In 2005, the USTA employed 265 at its national office, and an additional 200 staffers across the organization’s 17 Sections and 2200 national and sectional volunteers.